Movie review: ‘Nancy’ sows the seeds of an interesting debate

Al Alexander More Content Now

Wednesday

Jun 13, 2018 at 11:11 AMJun 13, 2018 at 11:11 AM

From the first time I saw her as Wallis Simpson in Madonna’s ill-fated “W.E.,” Andrea Riseborough became an instant favorite. I figured if she could be this good in a movie that bad, stardom was hers for the taking. That was seven years ago … and I’m still waiting for her to breakout. But I have a feeling those days of anonymity are about to end after a banner year in which she dazzled as Billie Jean King’s lover in “Battle of the Sexes,” as the title character’s eldest daughter in “The Death of Stalin,” and especially here as a delusional chameleon in Christina Choe’s devastating “Nancy.”

It’s a role capitalizing on Riseborough’s desire to disappear under the skin of whoever she’s playing. For her, no two parts are alike, allowing her to always be fresh, always be different and always be sensational. Heck, she doesn’t even need that garish stringy black wig, or going sans makeup to do it. But she does it to underscore her commitment to playing Nancy Freeman, a failed writer stuck in a failing life with a mother (Ann Dowd) in failing health. Happiness does not abound.

With such a dismal reality, it’s hardly a shock that Nancy subscribes to a series of fantasies, the chief one being her belief that she’s a good writer. A large pile of rejection letters stuffed inside her car’s glove box suggest otherwise. And her online blog isn’t going to give Andrew Sullivan anything to lose sleep over. But she does have a pen pal of sorts in John Leguizamo’s Jeb, a man finding relief from the grief of losing his child by reading Nancy’s pregnancy blog. Trouble is, Nancy’s not pregnant, nor has she ever been, a fact that becomes shatteringly clear to Jeb when he has a chance meeting with her in a supermarket. And that’s the least of Nancy’s deceptions.

Her pièce de résistance comes when she sees a TV news report about a grieving mom (J. Smith-Cameron) and dad (Steve Buscemi) in which the Oswego, New York, couple reflect on the disappearance of their 5-year-old daughter 30 years ago. An artist’s rendering provides a clue as to what the girl would look like now, a sketch that very much resembles 35-year-old Nancy. You can pretty much guess what happens next, and it’s very much in line with what “American Animals” director Bart Layton captured in his acclaimed 2012 documentary, “The Imposter.”

What ensues is riveting, as we watch the three characters working overtime fooling themselves into believing something that clearly is not true. But what are their motivations? Choe doesn’t seem all that interested in investigating them, but what she does give us — three desperate people desperate to believe — is fascinating enough to go along for a ride that’s often sad, but never predictable. We shouldn’t approve of what Nancy is doing, but you feel such empathy for her and the victims of her sham that you want greedily for all to continue happily deceiving themselves.

It all builds to a question of what is reality. Is it what you know, or what you believe? In that respect, Choe sows the seeds of an interesting debate, then provides no answers. Nor would you want her to. The film’s vagueness is its greatest gift. And it’s flattering that she entrusts all interpretations to us. But what made the movie for me were the many wrenching scenes between Riseborough and Smith-Cameron. At points, you truly wonder who’s fooling who. Their chemistry is magnetic, and the love that grows between them palpable.

But the nuanced way Riseborough plays Nancy never gives us reason to believe Nancy isn’t just a little bit off her rocker. Not in a psycho sort of way, but more like a lost 35-year-old child who has never fit in — until now. Then Nancy has to go and sprout a conscience. It’s then that it strikes you how well constructed Choe’s script is in raising numerous provocations about loneliness and longing. Her directing is nowhere near as interesting; just workmanlike. But it’s more than enough to give Riseborough the platform she needs to unleash the best — so far — work of her career. She doesn’t just play Nancy; she is Nancy. And it’s something you won’t soon forget.